Pages

Ignorance rules Florida Legislature

Ignorance rules Florida Legislature

by Donna M. Carbone

April 9, 2015

A return to the Dark Ages took place in Tallahassee on April
9th when the Florida legislature voted to endorse HB7111 (a revenge
bill) by a vote of 75-38. The bill effectively issues a license to discriminate
against the gay population in matters involving private adoptions. As corrosive
as this bill is to equal rights for all people, the behavior of Florida House
Judiciary Committee Chair Charles McBurney during recent hearings was an
embarrassment to the State of Florida and all educated people of good
character. When a very nervous 10-year old Nathanial Gill attempted to address
the committee in a faltering voice that spoke to the importance of his words,
McBurney cut him off before he was finished by laughing and saying,
“Unfortunately, your minute’s up.” Perhaps, Mr. McBurney felt threatened by
what would come out of the mouth of this “baby.”

On March 11, the Florida House of Representatives passed HB
7013, which effectively removed from state law the ban on adoptions by
homosexuals. The ban has not been enforced since 2010 when a Florida appeals
court declared it unconstitutional in a case brought by the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU). At the center of that controversy was Martin Gill -
Nathanial Gill’s father - a gay man living in Dade County.

In 2005, Mr. Gill became a foster
parent to two brothers then aged 5 and 1. The early years of the boys lives had
been spent in a grossly dysfunctional environment. Mr. Gill became the rudder on the choppy sea
that had been their life.

Gill fed them,
bathed them and nurtured them. He cared for them when they were sick, lifted
their spirits when they were sad and held them when they were hurt. Together
they laughed and cried, smiled and frowned, grew up and grew together -- as a
family should. He was what all foster parents should be... devoted to the
children in his charge.

The boys are African American. Mr.
Gill is white. By his actions, he taught them acceptance of self and others,
regardless of skin color. Having been exposed to drugs while still in the womb
and abuse after they were born, the brothers were both classified as
special needs children but, to Mr. Gill, the most important need was to love
them, which he did unconditionally.

Despite all his admirable qualities, Mr.
Gill’s sexual orientation made him an unsuitable candidate for a parent under
Florida’s 33-year old ban on gay adoptions. He decided to fight to keep the
boys he loved and battle lines were drawn. The next two years must have
felt like an eternity in hell. Thankfully, a very wise decision by the Third
District Court of Appeals in Miami turned hell into heaven on earth for this
father and his sons – a place where they could legally be a family.

In November
2008, a Miami-Dade County family court judge declared Florida's gay adoption
ban unconstitutional. At the time of the ruling, the judge stated that Mr. Gill
and his partner were "the best" parents for the two boys. The
State immediately appealed and any hope that justice would prevail quickly faded.
During oral arguments before the Third District Court of Appeal in August 2009,
a lawyer for the state made it clear that, if the court allowed the ban to
stand, the state would immediately begin to find new homes for the boys. This
is the same state that granted custody to Mr. Gill in 2004.

State Attorney
General Bill McCollum was hired to represent the Department of Children and
Families in the case. DCFS wanted the children removed from Mr. Gill’s
influence, despite glowing reports of superior care, and placed for adoption by
someone else – someone not gay.

The Appellate
Court dragged its feet in making a ruling. No judge wanted to go on record as
being for or against the ban. Two years passed during which the Gill family
resided in a limbo of uncertainty. Then, Governor Charlie Crist announced that
he was contemplating dropping the state’s appeal.

While at first
glance Crist’s decision might have seemed favorable for Gill, such a decision
would only have a positive effect in Miami/Dade County. The ban on gay
adoptions would remain on the books and judges in other counties could invoke
the law, hindering attempts by others in the gay community who wanted to open
their hearts and their homes to children in need.

By some miracle,
the dawn of a new age began in Florida. Moving away from blind ignorance and
bigotry into the light of wisdom and acceptance, the Third District Court of
Appeals ruled the ban on gay adoptions unconstitutional, thereby declaring Mr.
Gill legally a father to his sons. As a result, when gay and lesbian people
petition the Department of Children and Families to adopt, they can no longer be
turned away.

In 2009, I was optimistic
our state representatives would recognize that the time had come to put our
shameful past behind us. I was certain our elected officials would understand
that there is no magical hormone which provides a rush of maternal/paternal
instinct, making us instantly loving and caring parents. Real mothers and
fathers are not the result of bloodline or sexual preference.

That optimism
was shattered when Rep. Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford) proposed HB111 which allows
discrimination against gays and lesbians wanting to adopt based on religious
beliefs. The successful adoption of this bill makes me ashamed to call myself a
Christian.

Parenting is
hard work and the most important job any of us, who so choose, will ever do. To
be responsible for another human being, to provide nourishment for the body,
mind and soul, to teach by book and example, to make strong physically and
emotionally, to give love freely expecting nothing in return -- that is the
definition of a mother and father.

Martin Gill fulfilled
all those requirements. He fulfilled them long before a court allowed him to
legally be called “Daddy.” To him and all those (regardless of sexual
orientation) who open their lives and their hearts to children in need I say,
“Bravo. I’m proud to have known you even if only through the media. You are a
fine example of what parents should always strive to be.”

Faith and
religion are two distinctly different entities. HR 7111 is not a faith-based
bill. It is a shameful attempt to use mendacious doctrines as a cattle prod to
control the masses. I encourage Floridians to remember the names Charles
McBurney, James Brodeur and all those who approved HR7111 when they next go to
the polls. Vote out ignorance. Vote in a legislative body accepting of all
people.